


A Moment of Weakness (One Shot)

by Randm_mind (MyMuse)



Category: youtube - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-08-18 03:41:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8147971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyMuse/pseuds/Randm_mind
Summary: It's been a while since Matthew and Stephanie have been able to see each other due to work and constant business trips. While on a business trip in Las Vegas, feelings of loneliness begin to get to Stephanie and it leads to a moment of weakness.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've written a lot of fluff, so I'd like to try my hand at a little bit of angst. Here's a really quick writ that just kinda...happened.
> 
> Inspired by [this prompt](https://promptsonpaper.tumblr.com/post/150034393389/suddenly-things-that-never-mattered-are-starting) from [promptsonpaper](https://promptsonpaper.tumblr.com/).
> 
> [ Suddenly things that never mattered, are starting to matter. I can just feel my body shaking and slipping, there’s a hole where he is, and it’s in the shape of a grave.]

They had been spending more and more time apart from each other.

For the most part, Stephanie was in charge of the consulting arm of Theorist Media, while Matthew had his hands full running Game Theory and Film Theory on top of his responsibilities as an executive producer for season 2 of Game Lab.

But as the months went on, Stephanie found it hard to coordinate dates. She and Matthew often had business trips. She would leave in order to network with potential clients, present at conferences and panels about online video and consult with current clients. On the other hand, he would leave in order to go to conventions, network with other brands and YouTubers, meet with Youtube, and promote the Game Theory brand. When she would come back from a trip, they only had a few hours to spend together before Matthew had to leave for his. And it was taking a toll on her.

* * *

Stephanie was in Las Vegas. She traveled there to speak at a corporate conference about how to analyze YouTube analytics in order to optimize online video content. The conference ran late, and after her presentation, Stephanie immediately high-tailed it back to her hotel.

After coming back to the hotel, she took a shower to freshen up. By then, it was already 10pm. She grabbed her laptop to log onto Skype. She hoped that she could have a Skype chat with her husband before bed. She logged on and saw a red icon near Matthew's name.

Busy, yet again.

She couldn't blame Matthew for being busy. He had a lot of items on his plate. But she still couldn't help feeling a little bit of anger towards him. Whenever either of them would travel, before either one slept, they would always call each other via Skype in order to say good night to each other. It was an unspoken rule that both she and her husband followed.

But lately, it seemed like Matthew broke that rule more and more. The last few times he traveled, he hadn't even tried to video call her. The last few times she traveled, she attempted to video call him, only to be met with a busy icon near his name. When he was busy, she would send a short text message over Skype to him. She would wake up the next morning and see Matthew's response. It usually went along the lines of: he had been busy with researching/scripting/recordings and meetings and couldn't step away. That he loved and missed her and couldn't wait till she was back.

To her, it seemed like her husband had tunnel vision. That he preferred his channels instead of their relationship.

Stephanie let out a long sigh. She typed out a text response to her husband, hoping he would respond soon.

> Hey, it's me. Tried to call you, but I saw you were busy. Anyway, let me know when you're free, then we can try again. I miss you. <3

Stephanie shut off her computer and placed it to the side. As she yawned, she stretched out, taking up the entire bed. She gazed up at the white ceiling for five minutes, looking for anything interesting in it. Nothing. She reached over and grabbed the hotel's TV remote on the nearby nightstand, and began to flip through channels. It was times like these that she truly felt lonely.

As she watched TV, she felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier, until she fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Suddenly, Stephanie found herself walking alone on a path of leaves surrounded by trees. She let out a small smile. The scene reminded her of her childhood. In the fall, when the leaves changed color and fell to the floor, she would walk and jump on the leaves. She loved hearing them crunch underneath her feet.

In the distance, Stephanie could see a little clearing at the end of the leaf path. As she made her way there, the leaves crunched under her. Then she felt a cold breeze kiss her cheek, moving her hair ever so slightly. She pulled her jacket around her in an attempt to warm herself.

"I'm almost there."

She continued moving forward until she got to the clearing.

The clearing itself wasn't impressive. An open space that was littered with brown, gold, orange and yellow leaves. In the middle of the clearing, was a single stone.

She murmured, "what's that?" Curiosity seemed to compel her, and she moved closer and closer to the stone. The closer she moved to the stone, the more details she could see. The stone was made of grey granite and it had writing on it. She was able to read most of it, but not everything.

 **In Loving Memory of Matthew Patrick**  
**November 15, 1986 - [illegible]**  
**A Loving Husband and Father**

Stephanie fell to her knees in front of the granite stone. She felt tears beginning to form in her eyes. "N-no. I-I-It can't be." Her mind brought up memories of them together. Their first meeting at Duke University, their first official date at the university gym, their first kiss, Matthew's proposal to her, their wedding, and on and on it went. She buried her head into her hands and began to sob. "Not my Matthew. Not him. Anyone but him."

Suddenly things that never mattered to her, started to matter. She missed the little things: his gentle smile, his cheery voice, those brown eyes. She felt her body shake as she realized, Matthew wasn't coming back. Her husband was no more. In between her sobs, she breathed, "I, I didn't get to talk to him. To see him. I, I didn't get to tell him _**I love him.**_ "


	3. Chapter 3

Then Stephanie found her herself back in the hotel room, looking up at the ceiling. Her eyes were still glazed over and red from crying. Her chest felt heavy, like her heart was forcefully ripped out of her. She felt the tears stains on her cheeks and covered her eyes with her arms. "Mat..."

The tears began to fall all over again, as Stephanie's mind cycled through thoughts. Even though it was just a dream, to her it felt real. But she also knew that dreams were messages from the unconscious part of the mind, something that Matthew liked to mention to her whenever she would have these kinds of dreams. But she was still shaken from her dream and couldn't think clearly.

Did the dream mean that Matthew was going to overwork himself to death? Did it mean that they had already drifted apart? That they didn't love each other anymore? Stephanie didn't know.

But at the moment, Stephanie felt weak, vulnerable and melancholy. She needed support, someone to lean on, to talk to. But she didn't want just anyone. She wanted her husband, Matthew. She grabbed the laptop and turned it on. She looked at Skype and found that Matthew was available.

Stephanie clicked on the video call button and waited for Matthew to pick up.

The blank black screen gave way to a white blob. She could hear someone speaking from the other side.

"Skip, Skip," Matthew said in a high-pitched voice, "Here, Skip!"

A sigh of relief washed over her. Matthew wasn't dead. Not like in her dream.

Stephanie watched as the cat left the laptop keyboard. She let out a small laugh and smiled as Mat grabbed the laptop and placed it on his lap. "Hey."

"Hey, to you too. Sorry I didn't respond to your message. Some meetings ran long. I wanted to call you back, but I didn't know if you were awake or not. I didn't want to wake you. I miss you, honey." Matthew shot back a smile. He formed a heart with his hands and showed it to the camera. Matthew's smile went away and was quickly replaced with a concerned expression. "Steph, you okay?"

"Not really." Stephanie's shoulders fell. It wasn't often that she broke like this. Not in front of her husband. She looked away from Matthew. She knew that if she looked at him again while she was telling him what happened.

"What happened?"

"I love you. So much."

Matthew furrowed his brown eyebrows in confusion. "I love you too? I always have and always will. Why the sudden declaration?"

Stephanie turned to look at Matthew, and the tears began to fall. Her voice was soft and shaky. "I, I dreamed that you died and that you left me all alone. I saw the tombstone and everything."

Matthew's eyes went wide. He didn't know what to say. "That's quite a dream." Matthew looked at Stephanie with concern. "Steph. Look at me. I'll always be here for you, alright?"

Stephanie nodded.

"Tell you what. I know you have a flight tomorrow, so I'll stay on the line with you until you go to sleep. You need your sleep."

"But don't you have meetings in the morning?"

"Stephanie, nothing's more important than you. I know I've been busy with the channels and season two of Game Lab. But that's no excuse for not spending enough time with you. I've gotten the okay to reschedule the meetings, so tomorrow when you come in, we can spend the whole day together. Just you and I." Matthew shot Stephanie a warm smile. He put his left hand up to the screen, to show her his wedding band. "Sound like a plan?"

Stephanie put her left hand up to the screen too, to show him her wedding band.

"I'll take that as a yes."

A small smile found its way onto Stephanie. "So what happened today?"

"Well..."

As Matthew talked about his day, Stephanie felt safe. Matthew was still alive. And he still loved her, just as she loved him. It's been a while since she felt safe. It put her mind and heart at ease. It wasn't long before she fell asleep at her computer keyboard.

"I love you, honey. I'll see you tomorrow."


End file.
